***** FALL CLASSIC GAME 7 *****
Happy Halloween Fans!
Game 7s are usually all about taking control. The Fall Classic between Texas and St. Louis was no different. The Rangers jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the first inning. With one already in and runners on the corners with no outs, they seemed like they were taking control early and for good. Chris Carpenter, however, pitched himself and the Cardinals out of that early jam, and he proceeded to take control of the Texas lineup. Then, the Cards grabbed two runs themselves in the first. Starting with the top of the 2nd inning, the game had essentially started over, and Carpenter settled in and never looked back as they took the lead in the third and tacked on two more in the fifth. LaRussa pulled CC after giving up an 0-2 ground-rule double ripped by David Murphy. With a three run lead, I’d probably have given him one more batter to get an out, but LaRussa doesn’t let anybody finish anything these days. He went 6+ innings and gave up just those 2 runs. It was surely an impressive winner-take-all outing, especially on three days of rest instead of the usual four, as the Cards grabbed the title in a 6-2 victory in front of the home fans.
Speaking of finishing things, words has just gotten out that Tony LaRussa has announced his retirement. He is goin’ John Elway style; out on top as a champion (although John went out as a back-to-back champ). He had an incredible 33 years and 2,728 career victories with the WhiteSox, A’s, and Cardinals. That’s a ton of freakin’ games!! He was a great manager for a generation and helped revolutionize the game with his use of the bullpen In particular, the start of the designated strictly one-inning closer as we know it now. His own playing career was not nearly as exciting, but provided experience to learn the game for his future as a manager. He broke in with the Kansas City A’s in ’63 and finished at .199 with 35 career hits and 7 RBI. As a manager, he’s a lock for the HOF after he sits out 5 full seasons. The hill in Cooperstown will surely be Cards red on that summer day in 2017. The Cardinals, despite not being an East Coast team, have fans that travel well. Happy Retirement to a legend.
Now let’s get to the MVP. I’m thinking Mike Napoli was real close to winning
it to become the 2nd ever losing MVP and join Yank Bobby Richardson from the ’60 Series that ended with the only walk-off World Series Game 7 bomb by Bill Mazeroski in a 10-9 thriller. Ironically, they were each the second sackers for their respective
teams. Richardson had 12 RBI in that series as New York blew out Pittsburgh in three games, but three games just cannot win a title (also see 2004 ALCS: NYY).
Napoli came into Game 7 with 10 RBI and made some f-i-n-e FINE defensive plays as well (cutting down runners and pickin’ off Matt Holliday at 3rd). A big hit or a couple of RBI in Game 7 probably would have gotten the Halloween-born Napoli a great 30th
B-day treat. Instead, David Freese not only hit the game-tying triple in the 9th inning and the walk-off homer in the 11th inning of Game 6, but played a nasty trick on the Rangers as he added 2 more RBI in Game 7. He also hit .348 for the Series. Not a bad performance to follow up his NLCS MVP trophy. The guy is obviously REAL valuable. To top it off, he did all that not far from his schoolboy days hometown, and suburb of St. Louis, Wildwood, Mo. Not even you can script it any better than that Vince McMahon.
I stayed true to my original prediction and picked Texas in both Games 6 and 7. Looking back, in my gut I knew that the Rangers were in bad shape after losing Game 6
on the road. I didn’t want to be a ship jumper, but after Game 6, I’d have looked a lot smarter by picking the Cards in 7. Loyalty to my pick and hope for Texas were my downfalls on that prediction. Oh well. Like the saying goes, never bet with your heart; bet with your wallet. Lesson learned (for free).
The Texas Rangers have a become a real force in the A.L. and in baseball overall. Their model of allowing and expecting pitchers to go deep in games should be contagious at this point after back to back Classic appearances. I’m psyched about that, and think it’s great for the game. Unfortunately, Texas became the first team since the ’91 and ’92 Braves to lose consecutive World Series (before that it was the ’77 & ’78 Dodgers and the ’63 & ’64 Yanks before that). A rare feat that nobody really wants to be a part of, although 2nd is a whole lot better than let’s say…two 25th place finishes. Nobody knows who that is!! And they’re glad.
What lies ahead for St. Louis? La Russa is gone and Albert Pujols is the big free agent. And don’t forget that their younger ace, Adam Wainwright, will be returning from elbow surgery. Will they hire a manager first so Albert can approve and stay? Or will he disapprove and dis the Cards? Maybe they will hire within to keep an “Albert” guy at the helm. I’ve noticed Jose Oquendo coaching 3rd base for a while in St. Louis and he played there on a World Series team with the Wizard of Oz (Smith) and company in the ’80s. Then there is Terry Francona who knows a thing or two about managing in a passionate big-market. And, in true WWE style, that would pit Theo Epstein’s Cubs vs. Francona’s Cards in the second biggest rivalry in baseball for years to come. If I was a midwesterner, I’d say it is THE biggest rivalry, but I’m not so I don’t!
2011 baseball is now complete. Congrats to the St. Louis Cardinals on a thrilling run to grab the Wild Card from Atlanta, stun the Phavored Phillies in the NLDS, make stew of the Brew Crew in the NLCS, and wrangle Ryan’s Rangers in a thrilling and all-time great Fall Classic. I believe 38 out of a possible 41 postseason games were played in ’11 (the LCSs went 6 and Tampa-Texas went 4). As fans, we can’t ask for too much more in terms of competition and parity. There hasn’t been a repeat champion since one of those N.Y. teams did it from ’98-’00, but now the Cards and RedSox do own 4 of the last 8 titles. That’s not too bad at all for the baseball landscape. Plus, the champs since 2000 have covered both Coasts, the Southwest, Southeast, and the Midwest (Giants, Yanks, both Sox, Phillies, St. Louis, Angels, Arizona, and Florida). That’s great stuff from MLB and Bud Selig too, who may just wind up in the HOF himself someday. But that’s a whole other story in itself for another day!!
Enjoy the off-season and stay warm this winter fans. And check back here regularly for Trivia, thoughts on the Winter Meetings, free agents, and everything else baseball throughout the break. Whenever there’s a headline, we’ll have a comment (or two) as Spring Training 2012 reporting dates are just a mere 100 days (or so) away.
LATER BALLERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
***** FALL CLASSIC GAME 6 *****
Hello Fans,
WOW!! What a game! What a series! Back and forth. And back and forth again. It’s proof that you don’t need the Yanks, to love or hate, or the Phillies’ rotation to watch dominate a lineup in order to have a highly entertaining and intriguing World Series. It’s all on the line tonight to decide who takes the marbles after nearly 9 months of training, pre-season, season, and playoff games totaling nearly 200. If you’re tired, you ignore it. If it hurts, you ignore it. If you’re nervous, well, you should be because most of the guys on these two rosters won’t get any closer to being champions again. One more time, focus, focus, focus!!
Game 6 was an incredibly great game to watch. In the 20th year anniversary of Kirby Puckett’s Game 6 walk-off homer, David Freese did just the same for the home team Cards with a blast to dead centerfield. Naturally, Joe Buck made a similar play call on the shot as his dad, Jack Buck, did in ’91 that “…we’ll see ya tomorrow…” as the ball left the park. Awesome! And that was after Fox’s in-game trivia question was to name the Game 6 World Series walk-off homers. There was three with Fisk in ’75, Kirby in ’91, and Joe Carter in ’93. David Freese, welcome to immortality that no one can take away even if you never play again (he’s a rising star so he will).
The Cards did redeem themselves at the last possible moment from Game 5 struggles at the plate. Down by 2 runs in both the 9th and 10th innings, they came back to win as they were also down to their last strike twice as well. In the meantime, they became the first team to score in the 8th, 9th, 10th, and 11th innings in a Fall Classic game. Unbelievable!!
This game had it all. Six Bombs. 5 Errors (can do without). 19 runs. 28 hits. 15 pitchers. A pickoff (from W.S. MVP-to-be Napoli). More strategy battles from the managers. Players out of position. You name it, this game had it! One prediction was even right as we called for Texas to score 9 runs right here! Too bad I called for them to win and hold St. Louis to 4, NOT even CLOSE! Oh well, that’s why they play the games ’cause nobody knows what will happen. I’m still sticking with the Rangers as big Matt Harrison redeems himself from a rough outing in Game 3 to pitch 6 solid innings and grab the big ‘W’ for Texas in a 7-3 clincher.
This Series has been an all-time classic. It’s only fitting that it comes on the 20th ann.’y of that Kirby and Jack Morris-led Twins Championship against the Braves in another 7 game set. Morris went 10 innings in 1-0 shutout to bring the title to the Twin Cities. The Braves were stung, but on their way to further success and a title of their own in ’95. Legends were cemented that night in the veteran Morris and the lovable Puckett. A dynasty, although not the biggest one of the decade, was on the verge of changing the game with the likes of Steve Avery, John Smoltz, and Tommy Glavine. We didn’t know it that night, but we soon would come to expect that dominance. Is Chris Carpenter this year’s Morris? Is Nick Punto this year’s Gene Larkin (the utility man who drove in the winning run in ’91)? Or will the Rangers have something magic left in the tank to bring the trophy home on the Ryan’s Express and end the current 3rd longest championship drought (behind the Cubbies and Indians)? Well, you just never know, and that’s why they will play the game. And we’ll be watching CLOSELY!! HEEERRRE WEEE GOOOO!!
Later Fans.
***** FALL CLASSIC GAME 5 *****
Game 5 was all about redemption. This site was redeemed somewhat by Texas in fact taking the predicted 3-2 lead to St. Louis after a 4-2 victory. But that’s just small potatoes, let’s get to the players and we’ll start with C.J. Wilson. He has not had a good postseason this year as his ERA is north of six. In his last start, and likely appearance, before he becomes a coveted lefty free agent this offseason, he pitched with a lot of grit on a night where he didn’t have his best control (5 BBs). He executed great pitches at the most crucial times as he got out of a one-out and runners on the corners jam by inducing Holliday into an around-the-horn 5-4-3 doubleplay in the third. Holliday didn’t seem to be able to handle the hard stuff inside and Wilson pounded him on the inner half of the dish. Wilson also pitched out of a one-out and runners on 2nd and 3rd jam in the fifth. With one out, he struck out Allen Craig. That’s a huge play against any part of any lineup, but especially when you strike out the man in front of Pujols. With runners already in scoring position, it’s a no-brainer to walk Pujols intentionally and have force play options and take your chances again with Holliday. Wilson did it. He got Holliday to roll his wrists over again and it was an easy 6-3 force out. Wilson went 5-1/3 while allowing 2 runs (1 earned) and showed why he is the ace of the staff in an critical outing. Redemption.
Nelson Cruz didn’t homer as I thought he might, but first sacker Mitch Moreland sure did. He positively parked a ball half way up the upper deck on a 2-0 meatball from CC. Sometimes you have to go right after a hitter in a hitter’s count and sometimes you get stung. It happens and Moreland took advantage. With the moonshot, Moreland made up for a misplay at first on a ground ball as he got Freese out at first, but the bobble cost him a chance at home to get the aggressive Berkman sliding in from third after moving on contact. Redemption. That homer also redeemed announcer Tim McCarver, who had seconds before the majestic blast, mentioned Moreland’s raw power at times after hitting 16 HRs in 2011. McCarver didn’t make any glaring mistakes, but I know there are at least a few of you out there who may prefer another announcer. Redemption.
While we’re talking about announcing, McCarver and Joe Buck were both in awe about how Adrian Beltre ends up with his back knee on the ground after some of his notorious hard swings. He has hit several homers in his career while ending up in this position. Unorthodox is an understatement and then some, but it is very powerful nonetheless. So what does Beltre do? He hits a game-tying solo shot from his knee in the bottom of the sixth. That homer justified all the replays from past years of Beltre doing his thing. Redemption.
O.K. fans, this guy doesn’t need to redeem anything, but he is one Ranger win from being a World Championship MVP and redeeming an appearance in any Arlington establishment for one on the house. Yup, masked man Mike Napoli had another incredible game. He gunned down Allen Craig in the 7th at second with Pujols at the plate. Craig was out by three feet. Ron Washington redeemed himself by then immediately ordering Alexi Ogando to intentionally walk Pujols. Washington had the right situation to walk Pujols in the Game 3 massacre, but never did. In Game 5, he didn’t even mess around with Albert as he racked up a Bonds-like three IBBs. Redemption. All that was created by the Napster’s strike to the bag at second, and he was just getting started.
Napoli came up to the plate in the 8th with the score tied at 2. After Michael Young led off with a double to the right-center gap, Beltre struck out, Cruz was walked intentionally, and David Murphy got an infield hit off of reliever Mark Rzepczynski’s glove to load the bases with one out. The crowd was chanting, “Nap-Oh-LEE, Nap-Oh-LEE” as the grissly slugger came to the plate. He went with the pitch on the outer half of the plate and pounded it to the same spot as Young’s hit into the right-center gap and it bounced off the wall. Young and Cruz scored easliy, and the Rangers were three outs, by their closer Neftali Feliz, away from winning their third game.
Feliz did close out the game, but not without a little help from…who?…you got it….Napoli of course. In the nineth, Craig was on first after getting hit by a pitch. In a power bat vs. power arm at-bat between Albert and Feliz, Craig broke for second on a 3-2 pitch (to avoid the double play, not necessarily a straight steal). Albert swung and missed, STRIKE ‘EM OUT!, and Napoli chucked another beebee to second to easily nail Craig again at second, THROW ‘EM OUT!. Fans, there aren’t many plays in ball more exciting, or deflating for your opponent, than a strikeout and throw out double play. Great, great stuff from Feliz and Napoli and Ian Kinsler with the tag. Napoli had to be involved on the last play too as Feliz broke off a filthy breaking pitch that Berkman couldn’t touch. The ball bounced off a shin guard, and Napoli ran half way to first, grabbed the ball, and under handed a short throw to first to wrap up the game. The spotlight can’t not focus on him right now, and he’s putting on a spectacular show!!
I’m willing to bet that if most people try to think of World Series MVP’s, they think of Yogi or Bench. Why not, right, those guys are bigger than big legends. Perhaps I’m biased as an O’s fan, but until two minutes ago I thought Rick Dempsey from the famed ’83 champion Baltimore team was the last MVP to don the tools of ignorance. I redeemed myself from a big E-2 by double checking. It turns out Pat Borders was the last two-man MVP in ’92 for the Blue Jays. He hit .450 with 9 hits, a HR, and 3 RBI as the Jays took out the Braves. I’m sticking with my prediction that Texas wraps it up in Game 6. How about a score of 9-4 as the Rangers keep hitting and the Cards fail to redeem the missed opportunities at the plate from Game 5 (1 for 12 with runners in scoring position). But you can always root for a Game 7!!!!!!
Later Fans.
***** FALL CLASSIC GAME 4 *****
Yeah Fans, it’s ON!
The Series now has to give us 6 games, and with the back and forth wins of the games so far, there is a great shot to go the distance. Game 4 gave us ball fans just what we needed as the Rangers got up off the mat after taking an absolute pounding handed out by Pujols and his buddies in Game 3. A four to nothing Texas victory in a dominant near complete game shutout by Derek Holland was the cure. He happens to be the 2nd hardest throwing lefty starting pitcher in the bigs (to the Rays’ Price) and normally hits 96 m.p.h. on the gun. It was a perfect time to dial up a power pitcher for Texas, but when isn’t, right?. Right!
The number of runs and hits given up are always telling signs up how a pitcher did in a game. However, going 8-2/3 innings and giving up no runs and just 2 hits doesn’t quite tell the entire tale of Holland’s outing. He added 7 K’s and induced 12 ground ball outs. That makes for an easy night on the outfield as St. Louis stranded just 4 runners. His stuff looked overpowering and handed out just 2 free passes. Lance Berkman, an all-time great switch-hitter, and facing Holland from the right side, his weaker power side, had both hits for St. Louis. Yep, that means not even Pujols, arguably the best righty in the history of the game, didn’t get a hit off Holland. In fact, Albert is oh for three, as in oh for Game 1, Game 2, and Game 4. I’m thinkin’ not people many are talkin’ about that. Make no mistake, baseball humbles the best and the biggest at any time.
Of course, you can’t have a great pitching outing without the guy doin’ all the physical labor. So, here’s a shout out to Mike “Napster” Napoli for calling a great game behind the dish. Hey, you don’t get strike 3 without him, that’s a fact! Well, you can, but the batter can still get to first too. Anyway, the Napster also had a huge 3-run jack in the 6th to give Texas and Holland some breathing room for a 4-0 lead. If there was a roof on the Ballpark, it may have been blown off on the swing. The stadium atmosphere was immediately electrified. It’s a lot easier to throw strikes and challenge hitters with a cushion to operate with. Napoli got it done both at and behind the dish. We’ll give him the 2nd star of the game to Holland’s 1st star. That’s hockey reward style, but see how the catcher gets more stars than the pitcher? That means he’s the higher rank out there. All you pitchers got that? O.K. good, write that down. And remember, just throw what I call, and you’ll be just fine.
One performance that may get forgotten is Edwin Jackson’s. He went 5-1/3 and gave up 3 runs, but 2 of those scored on Napoli’s bomb, which was given by reliever Mitchell Boggs. Jackson gave his team a great shot of going up 3 games to 1, and taking complete control of the Series. Nice outing Edwin. LaRussa could have left you in the game, but he doesn’t seem to let pitchers finish 6 complete innings anymore. I guess you shouldn’t argue with the manager with the 3rd most wins all-time though. But that doesn’t mean I won’t before this one’s over.
Despite literally batting a buck and a quarter in the Classic, Josh Hamilton did have an important at-bat, in addition to his game-tying sac-fly in the nineth of game 2, in the bottom of the first when he singled to score Elvis Andrus. Even though it was just one run, I think scoring first, given the situation of being down a game, was a bit of relief for the entire Texas team. For a guy who isn’t healthy with a sports-hernia (or something related) and not hitting even a nineth grader’s weight, Hamilton has had some big moments. He’s a great talent, plays a mean center and/or left, and plays hard and hurt. That’s why he’s your 3-hitter.
Game 5. We’re back to the aces with C.J. Wilson for Texas and Chris Carpenter for St. Louey. I’ll stick with my call that Texas sends it back to Missouri up 3 games to 2 (with the wins coming in a different order). Wilson seems due to get his 1st career post-season win past the Division Series (first round). CC has been dealing the last couple of starts, but him and the bullpen come up short as Nelson Cruz goes deep and Ryan’s Rangers go up 3-2 in the franchise’s biggest game ever (so far) in a 6-4 win.
***** FALL CLASSIC GAME 3 *****
Well fans, for the first few innings not a whole lot happened. The game was an extension of the first 2 as Allen Craig scorched a solo shot in the first for the only run through three. Craig is really making a name for himself with the homer that followed RBI pinch-hitting hits in each of the first two games. We saw a bunch of strikeouts and groundouts as Kyle Lohse and Matt Harrison looked to be in control. However, the fourth inning brought about change.
It was bound to happen. The pitchers could hold these great hitters to the ultra-low scoring levels of Games 1 & 2 for only so long. The prediction right here even called for a combined 12 runs with Texas winning. It is tough to call for a slopfest. Right idea, wrong team. This game went from pitching duel to softball game in a matter of a few innings. St. Louis thrashed Texas and 16-7 was the final score. Football scores were mentioned as the casual fan’s favorite, but did we really want the matching score to Super Bowl III? Broadway Joe, umm, I don’t think so. Some great hitting by a few individuals (more on that later) and a whole lot of terrible execution by the pitching staffs. For one, Texas threw 190 pitches and only 108 were strikes while St. Louis tossed 166 with 104 strikes. So much for the desired better than 2 to 1 ratio strikes to balls.
I’m not sure if Cards hitting coach Mark McGwire threw in some leftover “juiced” balls from the ’90s into Plate Umpire Alfonso Marquez’ ball bag or what, but balls were flying all over and out of that park as it appeared to be batting practice out there. Tim McCarver called it in the first inning that we should expect more runs being scored after the homer. He was right. It started with a Pujols single and a bad call at first when Holiday hit into what should have been a double play as the tag at first by Napoli was missed by the ump. Rough call and he was in position. With only one out, Holiday went on to score and St. Louis cashed in for four runs in the inning as they were just getting started.
Remember the number 8 from Games 1 & 2? That was the combined runs scored. In Game 3, eight guys had 2 or more hits apiece. Wow. That’s a turnaround. But come on pitchers, you handed out 10 BBs and an intentional BB on top of 28 total hits. That is just plain unacceptable and poor. Mix it up, invent a pitch, anything. St. Louis scored at least 3 runs in the fourth, fifth, and sixth. Meanwhile, Texas tried to hang in there with 6 runs of their own in the fourth and fifth. That is softball style. The Rangers’ D left something to be desired as three boots were committed and other plays could have been made. Catcher Yorvit Torrealba, you have to give up the plate to get the ball. No ball, no out. Simple concept. It was an error from first sacker Napoli’s throw, but the catcher could have saved the play as he had time to momentarily give up the plate to receive the ball.
Hey, it was Saturday, where supposedly anything could happen. Well, anything and everything happened. Adrian Beltre went 4 for 5 and is at a .538 clip in the Series. And he’s not even close to what everyone is talking about. Albert is. He went 5 for 6 with 3 BIG BOMBS and 6 ribbies too. WOW!! That’s a post-season career all in one game. The three jacks were 420 feet or more. What an amazing display of power and discipline as they came off of 3 different pitchers with the last coming in the nineth when the score was 15-7 and in hand. Reggie Jackson and Babe Ruth, please welcome Albert Pujols into your club of players with a 3-Homer World Series Game. That’s a small club for 107 World Series.
O.K., UPDATE: Remember we mentioned Napoli’s Game 1 bomb being the first by an A.L. catcher since Posada’s ’01 round tripper? Well, it appears that the 10 year drought was significant. Going back to 1950, it looked to me that there was only one other time (’84-’89) with 5 years between A.L. backstops going deep.
PREDICTION: I won’t get the score right for Game 4. Haha, no kidding. I just hope to get the winner correct. Derek Holland gets the benefit of pitching the night after a rout by St. Louis, and the law of averages is on the Rangers’ side. Let’s go with Texas tying it up at 2 as the Cards’ are tired from the merry-go-round at the plate last night. The game will be shorter than 4:04 like Game 3. Rangers 7-1.
Later Fans.
***** FALL CLASSIC GAME 2 *****
***** FALL CLASSIC GAME 1 *****
Hellooo Ballerrs,
And finally, we’re in World Series mode. Thank you to C.J. Wilson and Chris Carpenter (the other hurling C.C. and proof that you don’t need to wear pajama pants if you’re 6’6″ and 230 lbs.) for representing the game’s best teams with above average pitching lines. Wilson went 5-2/3 with 3 ER and CC with 2 ER over 6.
The game got off to an action packed start with leadoff man Kinsler on base and immediately getting hosed at second, on a swipe attempt, by Yadier Molina. Molina didn’t get the seams on the toss but Furcal realed in the tailing blazer and had plenty of time to slap the tag on. Write it down, Don’t Run on the Gun.
Then, on a sharply hit ball to Pujols, Carpenter covered first and sacrificed his face and hands in a great effort to catch the ball, throw the mitt on the bag, and get the out. A great play by CC. An absolute terrible throw by Albert that could have cost them the series as CC also put his BARE hand on the bag after the mitt, which had the ball. Why? Get that thing outta there!! He got lucky and I’m glad. Some great action with the leather all around.
Wilson threw the old 59-footer up into Albert’s shin off the bounce in the 4th. I kind of gotta kick outta that one. You shouldn’t get an HBP for a ball that bounces just like ya can’t get a strike. A righty should be able to get out of the way of a lefty’s bouncy-ball. Food for thought. Matt Holiday doubled and Berkman followed with a single as he swung about late as can be to not only keep inside the right field line but to make contact. Joe Buck and McCarver said nice piece of hitting, but I think he stuck out the bat and got the hitting editon of “look what I found!”. But hey, whatever it takes, right?
The Rangers answered in the top of the 5th with Adrian Beltre singling and the Cathcher, of course, Mike Napster Napoli DRILLED a BOMB of a shot to right field on an outside offering from Non-pajama pants C.C. That was a blast and the first A.L. catcher to homer in the W.S. since Joe Posada in ’01. We’ll do some digging to see if that’s a significantly long drought or not.
A guy with two first names had the game-winning hit as Allen Craig pinch hit and drove in Nick Punto. Craig may not be a household name, but he was a .315 hitter in 200 at-bats in ’11, pretty good actually. Good for him.
I did laugh when McCarver replied to Buck that the pitcher must be coming out. Why? Pitch count too high? Nah. Injury? Nope. He said LaRussa had taken his glasses off, so he’s heading to the mound. That was great. You don’t always need stats or insider info., you just need to know a man’s tells, just like poker. Ron Washington, pay attention, it may save you a pinch-hitter or two while in St. Louis.
Three hours and six minutes. That was the game time, which is shorter than an NFL game. The pace was great, the hits were low (12 total), and the pitchers and defenders knew what they were doing. I thought that was great. And on top of that, Arthur Rhodes, a one-time Red Wing and O’s man, appeared in his first W.S. after 20 years in the bigs. He got his only batter out, Josh Hamilton, after writing his son’s initials in the dirt behind the rubber. He dedicated the outing to his 5-year old who passed on a couple of years ago. How can you not cheer for that guy?
Let’s do it again tonight and tie it up at one apiece. Rangers 6-2 is the call.
Later Fans.
***** NLCS Game 6 & World Series Preview *****
Game 6 of the NLCS was a disaster for all those Brewers fans out there. St. Louis came in and hammered every offering Milwaukee pitchers threw up there. Yes, threw up is what they did. Seven pitchers didn’t have much fight in them and managed to give up 12 runs (10 earned), 14 hits, and 3 walks. Come to think of it, there was a fight out there; at the Cardinals’ bat rack to see who was going to pad the stats next. Pujols, Berkman, and Molina each had 2 hits. NLCS MVP David Freese led the way with 3 hits, needing a triple for the cycle.
Shawn Marcum started for the Brewers and made a sa-weet glove-hand throw to home to nail Pujols trying to score on a squib hit in the 1st. I thought that was a great sign for the Brewers. WRONG!! Next pitch was a 3-run jack to who else but 3B David Freese. The roof was closed and balls began flying out of that park. Excuse me, Rockies, can we borrow the humidor and slow these laser line drives down a bit? There were 6 bombs overall with a record 5 in the first 2 innings.
I never thought it would be in the playoffs that I realized how great baseball is for having the no re-entry rule. This game was a slugfest early and both managers went to the bench for pinch hitters everytime the pitcher was due up. This forces a manager to do his job and make critical decisions. Football? We need a yard for a first down. Easy call, “hey all the big guys get out there and push forward real hard”. First Down!! O.K., put all the fast, skilled guys back in. Hit the button. THAT WAS EASY. Baseball, you have to think about how bad you want a 70% chance of still making an out with a pinch “hitter” AND losing a big arm who can make an out just as easy and then still take the mound for you and make more outs. Sounds basic, but ya rarely think about how great no re-entry is to the game.
Anyway, let’s get to the World Series prediction. I’m gonna give up on calling for 7 games even though we always want more games and it was the wrong answer in both LCSs. The lineups are stacked, the pitchers set records for futility throughout the playoffs (both at 5.50+ ERA), and so far this is the playoff version of the Year of the Hitter as last year the Giants made the Year of the Pitcher stick in the postseason too. There is potential in Game 1 for pitching to improve as aces Wilson and Carpenter square off. That’s how it should be, with the No. 1s head to head. I’m thinking (and rooting for) Ryan’s Rangers in 6 as Hamilton does better than last year’s Classic of 2 for 20 at the plate. All aboard the Express!!!!!!!!!!!
Dan great job with the web page. I really enjoyed reading it. Win or lose it was one of the best series I’ve watched in a long time, but I’m very happy with the outcome. GO CARDS!!!!
Glad you liked the pages Doug. It was undoubtedly a great Series. The right Carpenter showed up for you Cards fans!
Game 5 did not disappoint, 5er! Every time Napoli does something good, I picture you chest bumping your TV. I’m sure you also love how he dons the old school helmet & mask instead of the goalie mask the neck-tattooed Molina wears. I also loved the meltdown of Tony LaRussa. His bullpen and baserunning “strategery” even made George W. Bush wonder what the flock was going on with the Redbirds.
In the 5th inning, he had Furcal sac bunt with no outs?! Uhhhhh, basically that means you’re counting on Allen Craig to drive in the run?! Yes, he came through earlier in the Series, but after he whiffed, that left first base wide open for #5 (Mr. Pujols) to be intentionally walked….again. Booooo. Cards in 6, Rangers in 7.
Nothing wrong with a good chest bump to the old tube tv in the basement. No doubt, I love the real helmet and mask and there isn’t as many of them now. New rule: Every team has to have a starter or backup without the hockey style.
Looks good, I hope to get a Cooperstown trip set up before the end of the year. I will wait for you to have a day off. I can’t wait to see what you post on the off season! Maybe you can do a story on you dad’s favorite pitcher missing all of next year?
Thanks. Yeah hopefully we can all get a day that works for everyone for C-town. The off season will have regular updates (especially with player moves). That (in)famous favorite should be on a few lines anyway!!
Great web page! I like the Cardinals in 7, maybe 6 depending which Carpenter shows up tonight
Thanks Doug. The Cards will have to take advantage of that extra day off to get it done in 7 now!
Nice job Dan. Great picture too. Classic. I think it’s about time you got yourself an official website!! I’m looking forward to reading more!
Nice work 5er! Gotta feeling Texas is going to get loose on Lohse and make the Cards 11-5 lohsers. I like the website pic, but you may need to photoshop a #5 on your back.
Well done. I did recognize Doubleday Field. The writing is as good as always. Keep it up. The Dad